A festival float hung with lanterns pulled through a Japanese street at night
Autumn festival calendar

Japan Autumn Festivals 2026

Twenty festivals between the first of September and the rooster fairs of November, in date order: this year's days with their weekdays, the times that decide the day, what a seat costs where seats are sold, what rain does, and how to get there. Fifteen already have their 2027 dates, because most of these festivals never move, and Sapporo's organizers have published their plan.

Last updated: 2026-10-11

Next Up

Japan Autumn Festivals 2026September to November, with this year's datesSeptemberOctoberNovemberSolid = still to come · hollow = finished for 2026Owara Kaze no BonSep 1–3Sapporo Autumn FestSep 11 – Oct 3Kamakura YabusameSep 14–16Kishiwada DanjiriSep 19–20Aizu FestivalSep 19–21Nagasaki KunchiOct 7–9Takayama FestivalOct 9–10Ikegami OeshikiOct 11–13 · on nowNada no KenkaOct 14–15Nikko ToshoguOct 16–17Kawagoe FestivalOct 17–18Nagoya FestivalOct 17–18Jidai MatsuriOct 22Kurama Fire FestivalOct 22Saga Balloon FiestaOct 30 – Nov 3Meiji JinguNov 1–3Karatsu KunchiNov 2–4Hakone Daimyo GyoretsuNov 3Tori-no-IchiNov 7 · 19Arashiyama MomijiNov 7–8Owara Kaze no Bon, Yatsuo: Sep 1–3Sapporo Autumn Fest, Sapporo: Sep 11 – Oct 3Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Reitaisai and Yabusame, Kamakura: Sep 14–16Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri, Kishiwada: Sep 19–20Aizu Festival, Aizu-Wakamatsu: Sep 19–21Nagasaki Kunchi, Nagasaki: Oct 7–9Takayama Autumn Festival, Takayama: Oct 9–10Ikegami Honmonji Oeshiki, Ikegami: Oct 11–13Nada no Kenka Matsuri, Himeji: Oct 14–15Nikko Toshogu Autumn Grand Festival, Nikko: Oct 16–17Kawagoe Festival, Kawagoe: Oct 17–18Nagoya Festival, Nagoya: Oct 17–18Jidai Matsuri, Kyoto: Oct 22Kurama Fire Festival, Kyoto: Oct 22Saga International Balloon Fiesta, Saga: Oct 30 – Nov 3Meiji Jingu Autumn Grand Festival, Tokyo: Nov 1–3Karatsu Kunchi, Karatsu: Nov 2–4Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu, Hakone: Nov 3Tori-no-Ichi, Tokyo: Nov 7 · 19Arashiyama Momiji Festival, Kyoto: Nov 7–8timetojapan.com13 still to come · dates checked Oct 11timetojapan.com/autumn-festivals
Solid markers are festivals still to come in 2026; hollow ones are over until next year. The map updates itself from the dates.

How Autumn Festival Dates Work

Most of them never move. Twelve of the twenty keep the same dates every year, whatever the weekday, most of them because the date belongs to a shrine's or a temple's calendar: Nagasaki Kunchi on October 7 to 9, the Takayama Autumn Festival on October 9 and 10, Jidai Matsuri and the Kurama Fire Festival both on October 22, Karatsu Kunchi on November 2 to 4. In 2026 that puts several of the biggest on working days: October 22 is a Thursday, and Nagasaki Kunchi ran Wednesday to Friday.

Three follow a rule. Kishiwada's danjiri run on the weekend before Respect for the Aged Day, Kawagoe's floats on the third Sunday of October and the Saturday before it, and Tori-no-Ichi on the days of the rooster in November, which come round every twelve days: two fairs in 2026, three in 2027. The other five are set by their organizers each year. Wherever a date is fixed or follows a rule, the calendar below already gives 2027; of the five, only Sapporo's organizers have published dates for 2027, and they call them planned.

Rain is handled festival by festival, and it is worth knowing before you book a train. Jidai Matsuri is put back a day, and cancelled if that day is wet too. Takayama scales back or cancels and never postpones. Nagasaki Kunchi slides its programme to the following days. The Arashiyama Momiji Festival is simply cancelled, and Tori-no-Ichi goes ahead in rain or snow. Each section below says what its organizer says, and nothing where the organizer says nothing.

Almost everything is free and watched standing. Seats are sold at Nagasaki Kunchi (all four venues), at Jidai Matsuri (from ¥5,000, on sale since September 8 this year) and for the indoor stage shows at Owara Kaze no Bon (¥4,000). Karatsu Kunchi and the Takayama Autumn Festival have no paid stands at all.

The 2026 Calendar at a Glance

September

  • Owara Kaze no BonFinished for 2026
    Yatsuo, Toyama. Dancers in woven hats that hide their faces drift through a lantern-lit hill town to shamisen and kokyu.
    2026
    September 1 to 3 (Tue to Thu)
    2027
    September 1 to 3 (Wed to Fri)
  • Sapporo Autumn FestFinished for 2026
    Sapporo, Hokkaido. Some 300 food and drink stalls from all over Hokkaido take turns across seven blocks of a city-centre park.
    2026
    September 11 to October 3 (Fri to Sat)
    2027
    September 10 to October 2 (Fri to Sat), planned
  • Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Reitaisai and YabusameFinished for 2026
    Kamakura, Kanagawa. Archers in Kamakura-period hunting dress gallop a track inside the shrine and shoot at three targets.
    2026
    September 14 to 16 (Mon to Wed)
    2027
    September 14 to 16 (Tue to Thu)
  • Kishiwada Danjiri MatsuriFinished for 2026
    Kishiwada, Osaka. Four-tonne carved floats are hauled round right-angle corners at a run, with a dancer on each roof.
    2026
    September 19 and 20 (Sat and Sun)
    2027
    September 18 and 19 (Sat and Sun)
  • Aizu FestivalFinished for 2026
    Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima. About 600 people in armour march out of the castle as the domain's lords, from the Ashina to the Matsudaira.
    2026
    September 19 to 21 (Sat to Mon)
    2027
    Set by the organizer nearer the time

October

  • Nagasaki KunchiFinished for 2026
    Nagasaki. Six neighbourhoods a year bring dragon dances and boat floats to the shrine stage; the crowd shouts them back.
    2026
    October 7 to 9 (Wed to Fri)
    2027
    October 7 to 9 (Thu to Sat)
  • Takayama Autumn FestivalFinished for 2026
    Takayama, Gifu. Tall, ornate floats line a shrine approach by day, then roll through the old town hung with lanterns.
    2026
    October 9 and 10 (Fri and Sat)
    2027
    October 9 and 10 (Sat and Sun)
  • Ikegami Honmonji OeshikiOn now
    Ikegami, Tokyo. Some 3,000 people carry lantern towers hung with paper blossom 2 km to the temple, to drums, bells and flutes.
    2026
    October 11 to 13 (Sun to Tue)
    2027
    October 11 to 13 (Mon to Wed)
  • Nada no Kenka MatsuriComing up
    Himeji, Hyogo. Three mikoshi are rammed into each other on purpose, then six ornate yatai are heaved around the same arena.
    2026
    October 14 and 15 (Wed and Thu)
    2027
    October 14 and 15 (Thu and Fri)
  • Nikko Toshogu Autumn Grand FestivalComing up
    Nikko, Tochigi. Horseback archers on the shrine approach one day, around a thousand people in samurai armour the next.
    2026
    October 16 and 17 (Fri and Sat)
    2027
    October 16 and 17 (Sat and Sun)
  • Kawagoe FestivalComing up
    Kawagoe, Saitama. Doll-topped floats meet at crossroads, turn to face each other and duel with flute, drum and dance.
    2026
    October 17 and 18 (Sat and Sun)
    2027
    October 16 and 17 (Sat and Sun)
  • Nagoya FestivalComing up
    Nagoya, Aichi. No parade this year: the Three Heroes' floats, a flower car and karakuri puppets are parked for viewing.
    2026
    October 17 and 18 (Sat and Sun)
    2027
    Set by the organizer nearer the time
  • Jidai MatsuriComing up
    Kyoto. About 2,000 people in period costume walk Kyoto's history backwards, from the 1860s to the 790s.
    2026
    October 22 (Thu)
    2027
    October 22 (Fri)
  • Kurama Fire FestivalComing up
    Kyoto. Villagers shoulder blazing pine torches, the biggest about 100 kg, up a mountain street after dark.
    2026
    October 22 (Thu)
    2027
    October 22 (Fri)
  • Saga International Balloon FiestaComing up
    Saga. More than 100 hot-air balloons rise off a riverbank at dawn, if the wind allows, and fly for a target.
    2026
    October 30 to November 3 (Fri to Tue)
    2027
    Set by the organizer nearer the time

November

  • Meiji Jingu Autumn Grand FestivalComing up
    Tokyo. Archers shoot from galloping horses and old martial arts schools show their forms in a shrine forest.
    2026
    November 1 to 3 (Sun to Tue)
    2027
    November 1 to 3 (Mon to Wed)
  • Karatsu KunchiComing up
    Karatsu, Saga. Fourteen lacquered floats, built as lions, a sea bream and samurai helmets, are hauled into beach sand.
    2026
    November 2 to 4 (Mon to Wed)
    2027
    November 2 to 4 (Tue to Thu)
  • Hakone Daimyo GyoretsuComing up
    Hakone, Kanagawa. A feudal lord's retinue in Edo dress marches through a hot-spring town, spears swinging, palanquin and all.
    2026
    November 3 (Tue)
    2027
    November 3 (Wed)
  • Arashiyama Momiji FestivalComing up
    Kyoto. Boats carrying singers, dancers and court musicians in Heian dress drift on the river below the maples.
    2026
    November 7 and 8 (Sat and Sun)
    2027
    Set by the organizer nearer the time
  • Tori-no-IchiComing up
    Tokyo. Around 150 stalls sell bamboo rakes hung with lucky charms, and clap out every sale, for 24 hours.
    2026
    November 7 (Sat) and 19 (Thu)
    2027
    November 2 (Tue), 14 (Sun) and 26 (Fri)

Festival by Festival: Dates, Times and Tickets

In date order. Each one has this year's days, the times that decide the day, what a seat costs if seats are sold, what rain does to it, and how to get there.

Owara Kaze no Bon 2026: September 1 to 3

Finished for 2026Yatsuo, Toyamaおわら風の盆

Owara Kaze no Bon is on September 1 to 3 every year whatever the weekday, which made it Tuesday to Thursday in 2026. From 17:00 to 23:00 (19:00 on the last night) the eleven neighbourhoods of Yatsuo each dance through their own streets in matching happi and yukata, faces hidden under woven hats, moving to shamisen, drum and the bowed kokyu. There is no main venue, so you pick two or three neighbourhoods and wait for the dancers to come to you. Most festivals on this page are loud. Here the organizers ask you to keep your voice down and your phone in your pocket. Our Toyama guide →

Every year
September 1 to 3 every year, whatever the weekday; rain pauses the dancing but does not move the dates
2027
September 1 to 3 (Wed to Fri)
Key times
  • Sep 1 and 2, 17:00 to 23:00: street dancing in the eleven neighbourhoods
  • Sep 3, 19:00 to 23:00: street dancing on the last night, a shorter evening
  • Sep 1 to 3, 18:00 to 19:00 and 19:20 to 20:20: paid indoor stage shows at the Yatsuo Hikiyama Exhibition Hall
  • Sep 1 and 2, 16:00 to 24:00 (Sep 3 from 18:00): the old town is closed to cars
Tickets
The street dancing is free. The indoor stage show at the Yatsuo Hikiyama Exhibition Hall costs ¥4,000 (unreserved, 350 seats a session, two sessions a night); individual tickets for 2026 went on sale on June 2 through JR West's tabiwa site, and this year's festival is over.
If it rains
Rain pauses the outdoor dancing but does not cancel it: each neighbourhood decides when to start again, and the indoor stage show goes ahead regardless.
Getting there
From Toyama Station the JR Takayama Line takes 25 to 30 minutes to Etchu-Yatsuo; on festival days it runs a special timetable and you need a numbered boarding ticket. The Chitetsu bus from the station's south exit (stop 6) takes 50 to 60 minutes, and drivers pay ¥3,000 to park outside the closed old town.
Good to know
The festival area has no convenience store and few vending machines, and the streets are steep and dark: the organizers suggest a small folding stool, a light for your feet and a raincoat, not an umbrella. The pre-festival evenings in late August were not held in 2026.
Yatsuo's few inns were already full for the 2026 festival nights, and the organizers send everyone else to hotels in central Toyama, 25 minutes away by train.

Sapporo Autumn Fest 2026: September 11 to October 3

Finished for 2026Sapporo, Hokkaidoさっぽろオータムフェスト

The 2026 Autumn Fest ran from Friday, September 11 to Saturday, October 3 and is over; dates are set each year, and 2027 is already planned for September 10 to October 2. It is a food festival, not a shrine one. Seven blocks of Odori Park, about 1 km end to end, each get a theme: ramen at ¥1,000 a bowl on 5-chome, Hokkaido wine, sake and whisky at the 7-chome bar, about 70 town and village booths on 8-chome, Hokkaido meat on 10-chome, chefs and some 40 craft breweries on 11-chome. You order at the stall and eat in that block: no takeaway, and nothing carried from one block to the next. Our Sapporo guide →

Every year
Announced each year by the organizing committee: 23 days from a Friday in mid September in 2026, and the same in its plan for 2027. Open in rain.
2027
September 10 to October 2 (Fri to Sat), planned
Key times
  • Sept 11 to Oct 3, 10:00 to 20:30 daily: all seven blocks open, last orders at 20:00
  • Sept 18 and Sept 25: the 5-chome stalls change over; 8-chome changes on Sept 18, Sept 25 and Oct 1
Tickets
Free to walk in, no tickets: you pay each stall as you go. The only bookable seats were a few tables at the 7-chome bar (¥2,000 a head, which comes back as ¥2,000 of drink tickets, 90 minutes) and on 10-chome (¥2,000 of drink tickets for a table of two, 80 minutes).
If it rains
It goes ahead in rain; some stage events may be changed or dropped, and only part of the seating is under cover.
Getting there
Odori Station (Namboku, Tozai and Toho subway lines) is under the park, one stop from Sapporo Station: exit 5 comes up at 4-chome and exit 2 at 5-chome. For the west end use Nishi-juitchome Station on the Tozai Line (exit 4 for 10-chome, exit 1 for 11-chome); there are no road closures and no parking.
Good to know
Every block takes cashless payment and 11-chome takes nothing else, so carry a card or phone wallet as well as cash. Toilets are on 5, 7, 8 and 11-chome only.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Reitaisai and Yabusame 2026: September 14 to 16

Finished for 2026Kamakura, Kanagawa鶴岡八幡宮例大祭（流鏑馬神事）

September 14 to 16, every year: Kamakura's main shrine festival never moves (Monday to Wednesday in 2026), and the horseback archery is always on the 16th. On the 15th the main rite starts at 10:00, and at 13:00 three mikoshi dating from the Muromachi period are carried down from the upper shrine and along Wakamiya Oji to the second torii, where shrine maidens dance. At 13:00 on the 16th, riders of the Ogasawara school in hunting dress gallop the track inside the grounds and shoot at three targets. The shrine dates both rite and archery to 1187, under Minamoto no Yoritomo. Our Kamakura guide →

Every year
September 14 to 16 every year, with the yabusame on the 16th
2027
September 14 to 16 (Tue to Thu)
Key times
  • Sep 14, 18:00: eve-of-festival rite (yoimiya-sai)
  • Sep 15, 10:00: the Reitaisai, the shrine's most important rite of the year
  • Sep 15, 13:00: three mikoshi carried down Wakamiya Oji to the second torii, with a shrine-maiden dance there
  • Sep 16, 13:00: yabusame horseback archery on the track inside the shrine grounds
  • Sep 16, 17:00: the bell crickets offered at the altar are released by the shrine pond
Tickets
Free, no tickets: neither the shrine nor the Kamakura tourism association lists any paid seating for the September yabusame.
Getting there
The shrine is a 10-minute walk from the east exit of JR Kamakura Station, which is about 56 minutes from Tokyo Station on the direct JR Yokosuka Line (¥1,040).
Good to know
Stay on after the archery on the 16th: at 17:00 the bell crickets that sat on the altar through the festival are let go beside the Yanagihara pond, after court music and a shrine-maiden dance on the Maiden stage.

Kishiwada Danjiri Matsuri 2026: September 19 and 20

Finished for 2026Kishiwada, Osaka岸和田だんじり祭（9月祭礼）

Kishiwada's September festival falls on the weekend before Respect for the Aged Day, so the dates move: Saturday September 19 and Sunday September 20 in 2026. Thirty-four neighbourhoods (22 in the Kishiwada district, 12 in Haruki) each haul a carved wooden danjiri of about four tonnes around a set circuit, lap after lap, and take every corner at a run: the yarimawashi. Saturday has a parade past Kishiwada Station from 13:00; on Sunday morning floats take the Konakara-zaka slope up to Kishiki Shrine. From 19:00 to 22:00 on both nights they come out again, calmer, each hung with about 200 lanterns. Our Osaka guide →

Every year
Main day on the Sunday before Respect for the Aged Day (the third Monday of September), eve festival on the Saturday before it
2027
September 18 and 19 (Sat and Sun)
Key times
  • Sep 19, 6:00 to 7:30: hikidashi, the opening run
  • Sep 19, 13:00 to 17:00: parade past Kishiwada Station (22 floats, 13:00 to 14:45), then the afternoon run
  • Sep 20, 9:00 to 12:30: miya-iri, with floats setting off up Konakara-zaka to Kishiki Shrine from 9:30
  • Sep 20, 13:00 to 17:00: afternoon run
  • Sep 19 and 20, 19:00 to 22:00: lantern-lit run, about 200 lanterns on each float
Tickets
Free from the roadside.
Getting there
Kishiwada Station on the Nankai Main Line is on the route itself (Saturday's parade passes the station front) and about 26 minutes from Nankai Namba by airport express (¥540). Roads are closed over a wide area on both days and the city asks you not to come by car.
Good to know
Umbrellas, parasols, pushchairs and stepladders are all unwelcome along the route (bring a raincoat), and the city marks the corners as the dangerous places to stand: go where the marshals and police put you. It also asks people not to tape or chalk off viewing spots on the road.

Aizu Festival 2026: September 19 to 21

Finished for 2026Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima会津まつり（会津藩公行列）

Aizu-Wakamatsu sets its festival dates each year, always three days in late September: in 2026, Saturday September 19 to Monday September 21, a public holiday. Sunday is the day to come. After a send-off ceremony with cannon fire, the Aizu Hanko Gyoretsu leaves Tsuruga Castle at 10:30: about 600 people dressed as the domain's successive lords and their retainers, who loop through the town centre and are back by 14:50. Saturday evening has a children's lantern procession and ring dancing on Shinmei-dori; Monday has sixth-graders in Byakkotai costume. The Shinsengumi, the Byakkotai and Yae Yamamoto all walk past. Our Aizu-Wakamatsu guide →

Every year
Three days in late September, announced each year by the Aizu Festival Association
2027
Set by the organizer nearer the time
Key times
  • Sep 19, about 18:00: lantern procession leaves the castle; 19:00 to 20:30: Aizu Bandaisan Odori dancing on Shinmei-dori
  • Sep 20, 9:55: send-off ceremony on the stage in the castle's inner bailey
  • Sep 20, 10:30: the lords' procession leaves the castle; Shinmei-dori 10:50, Chuo-dori 12:50, back at the castle 14:50
  • Sep 20, 19:00 to 20:30: second night of Aizu Bandaisan Odori on Shinmei-dori
  • Sep 21, 10:00: Nisshinkan children's procession leaves Chuo-dori, then 20 school drum and fife bands from about 10:10
Tickets
Free, no tickets: you stand along the route. The organizers' guide lists no paid seats.
If it rains
In rough weather the ceremonies move indoors to the Tsuruga Castle gymnasium from about 10:30 and are held for officials only; the association posts a go or no-go notice for each event on its site.
Getting there
Tsuruga Castle is a 7-minute walk from the Tsurugajo Iriguchi stop on the Haikara-san and Akabe loop buses, though buses detour while roads are closed for the procession. From Tokyo it is about 3 hours: Tohoku Shinkansen to Koriyama, then the JR Ban-etsu West Line to Aizu-Wakamatsu.
Good to know
The procession stops to perform (matchlock volleys, sword dances, taiko) at eight marked points on the route, Shinmei-dori at 10:50 and Chuo-dori at 12:50 among them, and on the day the organizers publish the live position of its head and tail.

Nagasaki Kunchi 2026: October 7 to 9

Finished for 2026Nagasaki長崎くんち

Nagasaki Kunchi is always October 7 to 9, a Wednesday to Friday in 2026. The city's 58 dance neighbourhoods are split into seven groups, so each performs once every seven years, and six were on duty in 2026. Foreign fashions went into the dances early, which is how Chikugo-machi's dragon, Motofuna-machi's Chinese ship and Uwa-machi's Kokkodesho, a drum float thrown into the air and caught one-handed, share a bill. Each neighbourhood gets 30 minutes at four venues in turn: Suwa Shrine, the Otabisho by the harbour, Yasaka Shrine and the stands in Chuo Park. Afterwards the troupes tour the streets and perform at shop fronts, free to watch. Our Nagasaki guide →

Every year
October 7 to 9 every year; if rain stops the first morning's dances the programme slides to the following days
2027
October 7 to 9 (Thu to Sat)
Key times
  • Oct 7, 7:00 and 16:00: dances at Suwa Shrine, six neighbourhoods at 30 minutes each (about 3 hours)
  • Oct 7, 13:00: O-kudari, three mikoshi carried from Suwa Shrine down to the Otabisho, then the kasaboko parade
  • Oct 8, 7:00: dances at Yasaka Shrine; from 8:00 at Chuo Park
  • Oct 9, 7:00: dances at the Otabisho; from 8:20 back at Suwa Shrine
  • Oct 9, 13:00: O-nobori, the mikoshi return to Suwa Shrine
Tickets
All four venues sell seats, each through its own committee: Chuo Park is the simplest (single seats ¥4,500 to ¥7,000, on Ticket Pia from August 3), while Suwa Shrine sells four-person boxes at ¥18,000 to ¥36,000 and ¥1,500 standing tickets on the day. Sales for 2026 are over; the street performances are free.
If it rains
Rain pushes things back and does not cancel them: if the first morning's dances cannot be held the whole programme moves to the following days, and anyone who gives up a seat after a change gets half the price back.
Getting there
Suwa Shrine is at the Suwa-jinja stop on tram line 3 (bound for Hotarujaya), about 7 minutes from Nagasaki Station (¥150); the Otabisho is at Ohato and Yasaka Shrine at Sofukuji. The organizers ask you to come by tram, bus or taxi because the roads around the venues jam.
Good to know
The organizers publish a map and timetable of the street performances, and their Nagasaki Kunchi Navi shows where each troupe is in real time. The Nagasaka steps facing the Suwa Shrine stage are free seating, but only with a numbered ticket won in an advance lottery.

Takayama Autumn Festival 2026: October 9 and 10

Finished for 2026Takayama, Gifu秋の高山祭（八幡祭）

The Hachiman Matsuri is fixed on October 9 and 10 every year (Friday and Saturday in 2026) and moves for neither weekends nor weather. On both days the floats stand along the approach to Sakurayama Hachimangu from 9:00, and twice a day the Hotei-tai's puppets perform: two acrobat dolls swing across five trapezes onto the god Hotei's shoulders. Come for the night of the 9th, when the floats are pulled through the old town with lanterns lit from 18:00 to about 21:30. Eleven floats belong to the autumn festival; ten came out in 2026 because the Gyojin-tai is under repair. On the afternoon of the 9th four are also pulled around town, which the spring festival never does. Our Takayama guide →

Every year
October 9 and 10 every year; rain scales events back or cancels them and nothing is postponed
2027
October 9 and 10 (Sat and Sun)
Key times
  • Oct 9, 9:00 to 17:00 (Oct 10 to 16:00): floats lined up on the approach to Sakurayama Hachimangu
  • Oct 9, 12:00 and 14:00; Oct 10, 11:00 and 13:00: karakuri puppet performance in the shrine grounds, about 20 minutes
  • Oct 9, 13:30 to 15:30: four floats pulled around the festival district
  • Oct 9, 18:00 to about 21:30: evening festival, ten lantern-lit floats through the old town
  • Oct 9, 13:20 to about 15:30; Oct 10, 8:30 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 16:00: the shrine procession (goshinko), several hundred people in costume
Tickets
Free. There are no viewing stands (the organizers say so outright): everything, the puppet show included, is watched standing.
If it rains
Rain scales events back or cancels them, and nothing is ever postponed to another day: the call is made on the day, and the puppet show moves indoors to the Sakurayama Nikkokan.
Getting there
The shrine is about 1.3 km (20 minutes on foot) from JR Takayama Station, which is about 2 hours 35 minutes from Nagoya by Hida limited express. The festival district is closed to cars from 6:30 to 22:00 on the 9th and until 17:00 on the 10th; drivers use the free Takumigaoka car park and its free shuttle bus (15 to 20 minutes).
Good to know
For the evening festival the organizers warn people off Yasugawa-dori, where the crowd locks solid and you cannot cross while floats pass: watch from Shimo-Ninomachi or Shimo-Ichinomachi. Some roadside gutters in the old town have no covers, and it is dark.
Central Takayama's hotels are full more than six months ahead, the festival's own Q&A says; it suggests the outskirts or neighbouring towns, and the same site names Hirayu Onsen and Gero Onsen, each about an hour away.

Ikegami Honmonji Oeshiki 2026: October 11 to 13

On nowIkegami, Tokyo池上本門寺 お会式

The Oeshiki runs from October 11 to 13 every year, around the anniversary of the priest Nichiren's death at Ikegami on October 13: Sunday to Tuesday in 2026, and the night to be there is Monday the 12th, a public holiday. From about 18:00 well over a hundred groups, some 3,000 people, walk the 2 km from Ikegami Tokumochi Kaikan to the temple, each led by a twirling fireman's standard and carrying a mando, a lantern tower hung with paper cherry blossom. Hand drums, bells and flutes keep it loud until about 23:00 (midnight, by the temple's schedule page), and the temple counts over 300,000 visitors. Our Tokyo guide →

Every year
October 11 to 13 every year, with the lantern procession on the night of the 12th
2027
October 11 to 13 (Mon to Wed)
Key times
  • Oct 11, 11:00 and 14:00: memorial services at the temple
  • Oct 12, 10:00: the changing of Nichiren's robes; 14:00: the eve-of-anniversary service
  • Oct 12, about 18:00 to about 23:00: mando lantern procession from Ikegami Tokumochi Kaikan to the temple, about 2 km (the temple's schedule page says about 18:30 to about midnight)
  • Oct 13, 7:00: service at the hour of Nichiren's death, when the abbot tolls the bell
Tickets
Free, no tickets: you stand along the route.
Getting there
Ikegami Station on the Tokyu Ikegami Line is a 10-minute walk from the temple, about 20 minutes from Gotanda or 4 from Kamata; on October 12 Tokyu adds 29 trains each way between the 14:00 and 23:00 hours. Roads around the station and temple are closed from 10:00 on all three days (a wider zone from 15:00 on the 12th) and buses are cut back.
Good to know
The street stalls pack up at 22:00 on all three nights, and the temple asks people not to come by bicycle. Its main hall is under renovation ahead of 2031, and the procession is streamed live on YouTube from 19:00 on the 12th.

Nada no Kenka Matsuri 2026: October 14 and 15

Coming upHimeji, Hyogo灘のけんか祭り（松原八幡神社秋季例大祭）

Every October 14 and 15, weekday or not (Wednesday and Thursday in 2026), Matsubara Hachiman Shrine holds what everyone calls the fighting festival. On the 14th the seven old villages of Nada carry their yatai into the shrine one after another, from 11:00 to about 14:00, and jostle them in front of the tower gate. The 15th is the fight: three mikoshi are rammed into each other on purpose, first in the shrine grounds and then, from about 13:30, in the arena at the foot of Otabiyama. Six yatai follow them in, not seven, because the village with the mikoshi duty (Matsubara in 2026) leaves its own out. Elsewhere mikoshi are carried with care; here they are made to collide. Our Himeji guide →

Every year
October 14 and 15 every year, whatever the weekday
2027
October 14 and 15 (Thu and Fri)
Key times
  • Oct 14, 11:00 to about 14:00: the seven villages' yatai enter the shrine in turn
  • Oct 14, from about 15:00: the yatai are lifted again and leave the shrine, jostling as they go
  • Oct 15, 6:00: the mikoshi bearers purify themselves in the sea at Shirahama beach
  • Oct 15, 9:00 to about 13:00: the yatai enter the shrine and the three mikoshi are clashed there
  • Oct 15, from about 13:30: the mikoshi, then the yatai, in the arena at the foot of Otabiyama
Tickets
Free to watch from the streets. The stands in front of the shrine and at Otabiyama are not open to ordinary spectators.
If it rains
By Sanyo Electric Railway's notice, October 14 goes ahead in rain. If rough weather stops the fight on the 15th it moves to Friday, October 16, and the extra express stops move with it.
Getting there
Shirahama-no-miya Station on the Sanyo Electric Railway is about 3 minutes' walk from the shrine and 11 minutes by local train from Sanyo-Himeji (¥320). On October 14 and 15 Sanyo's through limited expresses, which normally pass the station, stop there from about 7:00 to about 20:30. There is no parking.
Good to know
Neither the shrine nor the festival has an official website, and Sanyo Electric Railway warns visitors about lookalike sites. The times above are the railway's, given as approximate, so arrive early.

Nikko Toshogu Autumn Grand Festival 2026: October 16 and 17

Coming upNikko, Tochigi日光東照宮秋季大祭（神事流鏑馬・百物揃千人武者行列）

Because the dates belong to the rite and not the weekend, Toshogu's autumn festival is on October 16 and 17 every year: Friday and Saturday in 2026. On the 16th twelve archers ride the Omotesando approach from about 13:30 and shoot from the saddle for an hour. On the 17th, at 11:00, the Hyakumono-zoroi Sennin Musha Gyoretsu sets out: around a thousand people in armour and period dress, mikoshi at the rear, walking about a kilometre to the Otabisho and returning at 13:00. It re-enacts the transfer of Tokugawa Ieyasu's spirit from Kunozan to Nikko. Our Nikko guide →

Every year
October 16 (yabusame) and 17 (warrior procession) every year
2027
October 16 and 17 (Sat and Sun)
Key times
  • Oct 16, 13:00: the riders parade onto the Omotesando track; yabusame from about 13:30 to 14:30
  • Oct 17, 11:00 to about 11:40: the warrior procession walks from Toshogu down Omotesando to the Otabisho
  • Oct 17, 12:00 to about 12:30: rites at the Otabisho, with offerings and two sacred dances
  • Oct 17, 13:00 to about 13:30: the procession returns to Toshogu
Tickets
Free, no tickets: you stand along Omotesando. The Nikko tourism association asks people to watch quietly, because both events are rites.
Getting there
From JR Nikko or Tobu-Nikko Station the World Heritage Meguri bus takes about 7 minutes to the Shinkyo stop, then it is about 15 minutes on foot. Tobu limited expresses from Asakusa reach Tobu-Nikko in about 1 hour 50 minutes, and the tourism association warns that the roads and car parks around the shrine can be full.
Good to know
No flash near the horses: the local tourism association calls it dangerous. The same two events are held on a larger scale at the spring festival on May 17 and 18, if October does not fit your trip.

Kawagoe Festival 2026: October 17 and 18

Coming upKawagoe, Saitama川越まつり

Kawagoe's rule is the third Sunday of October and the Saturday before it: October 17 and 18 in 2026. Twenty-six floats are out this year, each with a doll on top and a hayashi band on a revolving stage, and with no single route they roam the closed-off old town all day. When two meet they turn to face each other and the bands play against one another (hikkawase), best after dark, when the pullers raise lanterns and shout. Set pieces are few: lanterns lit at 18:00 on Saturday, the run past City Hall from 13:30 on Sunday. Edo's own festivals went over to mikoshi, the organizers say; Kawagoe still looks the way Edo's Tenka Matsuri did. Our Saitama and Kawagoe guide →

Every year
The third Sunday of October and the Saturday before it
2027
October 16 and 17 (Sat and Sun)
Key times
  • Oct 17, 13:00 to about 14:30: Jinkosai, the Hikawa Shrine procession the float festival grew out of
  • Oct 17, 18:00 to about 19:00: yoiyama, the floats standing with lanterns lit and their bands playing
  • Oct 18, 13:30 to about 16:00: floats pass in front of City Hall (they do not line up there in 2026)
  • Oct 17 and 18, 10:00 to 22:00: roads closed; hikkawase happens whenever floats meet, with no set time
Tickets
Free, no tickets: you stand along the route. Priority seats for older and disabled visitors are set out in front of City Hall.
If it rains
In bad weather floats may not be pulled; the official app shows which ones are moving.
Getting there
Three stations ring the festival area: Kawagoe (JR and Tobu), Kawagoeshi (Tobu) and Hon-Kawagoe (Seibu), with the Tobu Tojo Line's Kawagoe limited express taking about 26 minutes from Ikebukuro. The centre is closed to cars from 10:00 to 22:00 on both days, and bicycles have to be pushed.
Good to know
Get the free Kawagoe Matsuri Navi app: it shows every float's position live, which matters at a festival with no fixed route. The organizers ask everyone to keep left and keep moving in the crowded streets.
No hotel change needed: Kawagoe is under half an hour from Ikebukuro, so it works as a day and an evening out from a Tokyo base.

Nagoya Festival 2026: October 17 and 18

Coming upNagoya, Aichi名古屋まつり

Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, are the 2026 dates of the 72nd Nagoya Festival (they are set each year), and this year it has no procession. The Three Heroes parade of Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu was dropped because the weekend overlaps the torch relay and opening ceremony of the Asian Para Games in Nagoya. Everything is in Hisaya Odori Park instead: the three floats the heroes normally ride are parked for photographs, karakuri puppets from the festival's floats perform to live music twice a day, and there is a bon dance each evening. Other years this is a street parade; in 2026 it is a park fair with the parade's props in it. Our Nagoya guide →

Every year
Announced each year by the festival association: a mid-October weekend in 2025 and 2026. Park events run in rain; the procession, in the years it is held, is cancelled by rain.
2027
Set by the organizer nearer the time
Key times
  • Oct 17, 11:00 to 20:00, and Oct 18, 10:00 to 20:00: the Hisaya Odori Park venue is open
  • Oct 17, 11:00 to 17:00, and Oct 18, 10:00 to 17:00: the Three Heroes' floats on show
  • Oct 17, 12:00 and 14:00; Oct 18, 11:30 and 14:30: karakuri puppets perform to float music
  • Oct 17, 18:00 to 20:00, and Oct 18, 17:00 to 19:00: bon dance to the parade's Shachi-bayashi tune
Tickets
Free, no tickets: the park has no admission charge, though food stalls and some hands-on booths cost money. The organizers set up no viewing stands, in parade years either.
If it rains
The park venue goes ahead in rain and closes only in severe weather; some individual events are marked as cancelled if it rains.
Getting there
Sakae Station (Higashiyama and Meijo subway lines) and Yaba-cho Station (Meijo Line) are at the two ends of the venue; Sakae is about 5 minutes from Nagoya Station on the Higashiyama Line. With no procession there are no road closures in 2026, and there is no festival parking.
Good to know
Nagoya Castle is free on both days (9:00 to 16:30; the main keep is closed), and on Sunday the 18th eleven more city sites are free, Higashiyama Zoo and Tokugawa-en among them. The Donichi Eco Kippu day pass, ¥620, covers the subway and city buses on either day.

Jidai Matsuri 2026: October 22

Coming upKyoto時代祭

Jidai Matsuri is on Thursday, October 22, 2026, the same date every year. At 12:00 the head of the procession leaves the Kenreimon gate of the Imperial Palace, and it reaches Heian Jingu at about 14:30: some 2,000 people, 70 horses and two oxen in a column about 2 km long that takes two hours to pass. It runs backwards through time, with the fife-and-drum corps of the Meiji Restoration in front, then Edo, Momoyama and on down to the 8th century, and the shrine's two sacred palanquins near the rear. Every costume and prop, about 12,000 pieces, is a researched reconstruction, so it is closer to a museum on the move than to a parade. Our Kyoto guide →

Every year
October 22 every year; put back to the 23rd if it rains, and cancelled if the 23rd is wet too
2027
October 22 (Fri)
Key times
  • 12:00: the head of the procession leaves Kenreimon gate at the Imperial Palace
  • 12:30: Karasuma Marutamachi; 12:50: Karasuma Oike; 13:20: Kawaramachi Oike; 13:40: Sanjo Ohashi
  • 14:30: the head reaches Heian Jingu; the tail arrives at about 16:00
  • About 7:00: on a wet morning, the decision to go or postpone is posted by Heian Jingu and the city
Tickets
Free anywhere along the route. Reserved seats at the Imperial Palace park, Oike-dori and Jingu-michi cost ¥5,000 (¥7,500 front row), with commentary seats from ¥8,500 to ¥15,500; they went on sale on September 8 through Ticket Pia, whose sales page was still taking orders on October 11.
If it rains
Rain or a storm postpones it to October 23 (decided early that morning; seat tickets carry over); if the 23rd is wet too it is cancelled.
Getting there
The procession passes Karasuma Marutamachi (Marutamachi Station on the Karasuma subway line, about 7 minutes from Kyoto Station) at 12:30; the finish, Heian Jingu, is a 10-minute walk from Higashiyama Station on the Tozai Line. Roads on the route close to cars in stages between 11:50 and 16:00.
Good to know
In the paid seats umbrellas, parasols and tripods are not allowed, and flash is banned because of the horses and oxen: bring a raincoat and a hat. Seat numbers are assigned by computer, and row A is the front.
Kyoto fills for the night before: in late September five of the seven chain hotels we checked had no rooms left for October 21.

Kurama Fire Festival 2026: October 22

Coming upKyoto鞍馬の火祭

The Kurama Fire Festival is on the night of Thursday, October 22, 2026: the same date every year, and the same day as Jidai Matsuri. At 18:00 a crier calls the village to the rite and watch fires are lit outside every house along the Kurama road. Children come out first with small torches, then young men shouldering huge ones (up to 100 kg), chanting 'sairei, sairyo', until the torches mass on the stone steps below the temple gate. A sacred rope is cut and two portable shrines come down the steps, with the village women hauling on ropes to brake them. It runs past midnight; the last train does not. Our Kyoto guide →

Every year
October 22 every year, the night of Yuki Shrine's annual festival
2027
October 22 (Fri)
Key times
  • 15:00: the road through Kurama closes to cars (until 1:00 on Oct 23) and every car park is shut
  • About 16:30: Yuki Shrine's office closes and the hill above the temple gate is sealed off
  • 18:00: watch fires are lit at every house and the first torches come out
  • 23:24: last Eizan train from Kurama back to Demachiyanagi
Tickets
Free, no tickets and no seats: you watch from the village street.
Getting there
Kurama is the last stop of the Eizan Railway, about 30 minutes from Demachiyanagi (¥470), and Yuki Shrine is a 6-minute walk from the station. On the day Eizan runs a special timetable, may limit boarding, and stops carrying festival visitors to Kurama altogether if the police say the village is full; cars are barred from 15:00.
Good to know
Eizan warns that you may queue a long time and still not get on a train. Go up early in the afternoon, and be back at Kurama Station well before 23:24: the festival is still going when the last train leaves.
It shares its date with Jidai Matsuri, and central Kyoto rooms for the nights around October 22 were already running out in late September.

Saga International Balloon Fiesta 2026: October 30 to November 3

Coming upSaga佐賀インターナショナルバルーンフェスタ

Friday, October 30 to Tuesday, November 3 (a public holiday) is the 2026 fiesta; the dates are set each year. It is a competition: 123 balloons are entered, 25 of them from overseas, and twice a day, at 7:00 and 15:00, the pilots either lift off together from the Kase River bank or fly in from a few kilometres away to drop a marker on a target. Which it will be, and whether they fly at all, is decided at a briefing about half an hour before. After the morning flight some 20 character-shaped balloons are inflated on the launch field, and on the last two evenings the balloons are lit up to music from 18:30. Our Saga guide →

Every year
Announced each year by the organizing committee; in 2026, five days ending on the November 3 holiday. Each flight is called off separately for rain, wind or poor visibility.
2027
Set by the organizer nearer the time
Key times
  • Oct 30 to Nov 3, 7:00 to 9:00: morning competition flight, the one that flies most often
  • Oct 30 to Nov 3, after the morning flight until about 10:30: shaped balloons (Balloon Fantasia)
  • Oct 30 to Nov 2, 15:00 to 17:00: afternoon competition flight, often called off for wind
  • Nov 3, 15:00 to 17:00: Key Grab Race, the last flight of the event
  • Nov 2 and Nov 3, 18:30: night mooring (La Montgolfier Nocturne)
Tickets
Free, no tickets. The car park on the riverbank costs ¥2,000 a car.
If it rains
Balloons need dry air, good visibility and light wind, so any flight can be cancelled at the briefing held just before it; the night mooring is cancelled, or done with burners only, in rain or strong wind.
Getting there
JR opens a temporary station, Balloon Saga, inside the venue from October 30 to November 3 only: 4 minutes and ¥240 from Saga Station, and extra limited expresses run direct from Hakata at 5:03, 5:35 and 6:10 (about 45 minutes; ¥1,540 one way with JR Kyushu's online Balloon Saga ticket). Roads and car parks jam at weekends.
Good to know
Morning flights go ahead far more often than afternoon ones, so be on the bank before 7:00. The temporary station and the riverside car park are closed on the practice days, October 28 and 29, and trains are packed straight after each flight and after the night mooring.
The organizer says hotels near Saga Station, the easy base for the train, fill up quickly for fiesta nights.

Meiji Jingu Autumn Grand Festival 2026: November 1 to 3

Coming upTokyo明治神宮 秋の大祭

Meiji Jingu holds its autumn festival on November 1 to 3 every year: Sunday to Tuesday in 2026, ending on the Culture Day holiday. The 10:00 rites are for the shrine's supporters; visitors come for the performances offered around them, all free to watch. Court dance is staged in front of the shrine on October 31, Noh and Kyogen on November 2, and November 3 is a day of martial arts: aikido from 9:00, classical schools from 10:00, an archery rite at 11:00 and yabusame, archery from a galloping horse, at 13:00 on the west approach lawn. There are no floats and no parade, only skills offered to the shrine. Our Tokyo guide →

Every year
November 1 to 3 every year: November 1 is the anniversary of the shrine's founding and November 3 is Emperor Meiji's birthday
2027
November 1 to 3 (Mon to Wed)
Key times
  • Oct 31, 11:00: bugaku court dance on the stage in front of the main shrine
  • Nov 1, 12:00: traditional music and dance; 15:45: sankyoku ensemble, same stage
  • Nov 2, 11:45: Noh and Kyogen, same stage
  • Nov 3, 9:00: aikido; 10:00: classical martial arts; 11:00: momote-shiki archery rite
  • Nov 3, 13:00: yabusame on the lawn along the west approach
Tickets
Free, no tickets: the dedicated performances are open to anyone, standing. Only the shrine rites themselves need an application, through the shrine's supporters' association.
If it rains
The notice says only that weather may mean some events cannot be watched; no rain date is given.
Getting there
Meiji Jingu has three gates: Harajuku (JR Yamanote Line, or Meiji-jingumae on the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin lines), Yoyogi and Sangubashi (Odakyu Line). The martial arts and the yabusame are on the west side, nearest the Sangubashi gate; from any gate allow about 10 minutes on foot to the main shrine.
Good to know
The gates shut at 16:10 in November, so the 15:00 biwa recital on the 3rd is the last event of the festival. These times are from the shrine's supporters' association (September 7); look at the shrine's own news page for late changes.

Karatsu Kunchi 2026: November 2 to 4

Coming upKaratsu, Saga唐津くんち

Karatsu Kunchi is November 2 to 4 every year: Monday to Wednesday in 2026. Fourteen hikiyama, lacquered floats of two to three tons shaped as a red lion, a sea bream, a flying dragon and the helmets of Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin, are hauled through the old castle town to flute, bell and drum and shouts of 'enya, enya'. On the first night they run lit by lanterns. The scene to see is at noon on November 3, when each float is dragged into the soft sand at Nishinohama and its wheels sink. The floats are the art: the city calls them some of the largest dry-lacquer works in the world. Our Saga guide →

Every year
November 2, 3 and 4 every year
2027
November 2 to 4 (Tue to Thu)
Key times
  • Nov 2, 19:00 to 21:30: lantern-lit evening run from Otemon-guchi, 30 minutes earlier than in 2025
  • Nov 3, 9:30: the floats leave Karatsu Shrine with the portable shrines
  • Nov 3, 12:00: floats are hauled into the sand at Nishinohama; 15:00: hauled out again
  • Nov 4, 10:00 to 16:40: last run; all 14 line up on Komeya-machi and pull out at 14:30
Tickets
Free, and there are no paid seats at all: the tourism association warns that older listings of grandstand tickets are out of date.
Getting there
Karatsu Station is about 1 hour 10 minutes from Hakata on the through rapid (Fukuoka subway Kuko Line onto the JR Chikuhi Line, ¥1,290), or about 70 minutes from Saga on the JR Karatsu Line, where IC cards do not work. The route runs through the streets just north of the station, which close to cars 18:00 to 23:30 on the 2nd, 7:00 to 18:00 on the 3rd and 8:30 to 18:30 on the 4th.
Good to know
Printed times are for the lead float, the red lion; all fourteen take about 50 minutes to pass. Sitting on the road and selfie sticks are banned, there are no shuttle buses from the free car parks, and some shops in the centre close for the three days.

Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu 2026: November 3

Coming upHakone, Kanagawa箱根大名行列

On November 3 every year, a Tuesday and public holiday in 2026, about 170 people dressed as an Edo-period lord's retinue, with spear bearers, ladies-in-waiting and the lord's palanquin, walk some 2 km through Hakone-Yumoto to the cry of 'shita ni, shita ni'. The 2026 route leaves Hotel Nanpuso at 11:30, halts at Tenseien from 12:00 to 13:20, passes Hakone-Yumoto Station at about 14:10 and ends at Yumoto Fujiya Hotel at about 14:45, with matchlock guns fired on the way. The column is modelled on the retinue of the Odawara domain, a lord of 113,000 koku on the road to Edo for his year of attendance on the shogun. Our Hakone guide →

Every year
November 3 every year, in Hakone-Yumoto since 1954
2027
November 3 (Wed)
Key times
  • 9:30: the yakko spear bearers perform on their own at Ajisai Bridge, by the station
  • 11:30: the procession leaves Hotel Nanpuso; 12:00 to 13:20: halt at Tenseien
  • About 14:10: passes Hakone-Yumoto Station; about 14:45: ends at Yumoto Fujiya Hotel
  • About 11:00 to 15:00: roads on the route are closed to cars
Tickets
Free, no tickets: you stand along the route.
Getting there
Hakone-Yumoto Station is about 85 minutes from Shinjuku on the Odakyu Romancecar. On the day cars are barred from the route from about 11:00 to 15:00, buses skip the station stop from 13:55 to 14:40, taxis cannot pick up at the station from 13:00 to 15:00, and entry to the station is restricted from 13:30.
Good to know
The six bridges on the route are closed to people on foot while the procession crosses, so choose your side of the river early. The organizer's map marks the riverside Taki-dori stretch as the place to watch at an easier pace.

Arashiyama Momiji Festival 2026: November 7 and 8

Coming upKyoto嵐山もみじ祭り

This year the festival is two days, Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, 2026, from 11:30 to 17:00: one day more than the organizer's stated rule, the second Sunday of November, would give. Decorated boats go out on the Oi River just above Togetsukyo bridge to re-create a Heian court boating party: imayo song and dance on one, court music on another, with more performances on the bank. It is held to honour the maples of Arashiyama and to thank Zao Gongen, the district's guardian deity. You stand on the riverbank and watch, for free. Our Kyoto guide →

Every year
By the organizer's rule the second Sunday of November, though 2026 is listed as that Sunday and the Saturday before; cancelled if it rains
2027
Set by the organizer nearer the time
Key times
  • Nov 7 and Nov 8, 11:30 to 17:00: boats and riverbank performances just above Togetsukyo bridge
Tickets
Free, no tickets: you watch from the riverbank.
If it rains
Cancelled if it rains.
Getting there
Randen Arashiyama Station is a 2-minute walk, and city bus 28 stops at Arashiyama Koen beside the river. From Kyoto Station the JR Sagano Line reaches Saga-Arashiyama in about 11 minutes by rapid train (¥240).
Good to know
The festival comes before the color, not with it: Arashiyama's maples usually peak from mid November into early December.

Tori-no-Ichi 2026: November 7 and 19

Coming upTokyo酉の市

Tori-no-Ichi falls on the Days of the Rooster in November, so the dates move every year: in 2026 there are two, Saturday, November 7 and Thursday, November 19. Each runs a full 24 hours from a drumbeat at midnight. About 150 stalls around Otori Shrine and the temple next door, Chokoku-ji, sell kumade, bamboo rakes hung with lucky charms that businesses buy to rake in next year's trade, from ¥1,000 to several hundred thousand yen. The custom is to haggle the price down, hand the discount back as a tip, and be clapped out by the whole stall. It is a market, not a procession, and it is still open at 1 in the morning. Our Tokyo guide →

Every year
Every Day of the Rooster in November, a 12-day cycle, so two fairs in some years and three in others; held in rain or snow
2027
November 2 (Tue), 14 (Sun) and 26 (Fri)
Key times
  • Nov 7 and Nov 19, 0:00 to 24:00: the fair, opened by the first drum at midnight
  • Nov 6 and Nov 18, from about 19:00: eve of the fair, with some of the stalls around Chokoku-ji already open
  • Nov 7 and Nov 19, 13:00: the main rite at Otori Shrine (to attend, book ahead)
Tickets
Free, no tickets. The cost is the rake: from ¥1,000, with most sold at ¥20,000 to ¥50,000 by the shrine's own estimate.
If it rains
It is held in rain or snow; as far as Chokoku-ji knows, it has never been postponed or cancelled for weather.
Getting there
Iriya Station on the Hibiya subway line, exit 3, then about 7 minutes on foot; Asakusa Station on the Tsukuba Express is about 8 minutes, and the Ginza Line's Asakusa Station 15 to 20. There is no parking, and lane restrictions jam the roads around it on fair days.
Good to know
Bring last year's rake back: there are return points at the entrances of both the shrine and the temple. Some rake sellers stop serving between about 3:00 and 9:00, and many street stalls keep going until about 2:00 after the fair day ends.

Also on the Autumn Calendar

Four more that did not get a section here, each checked against its organizer's page.

  • Naha Great Tug-of-War: the Sunday before Sports Day every year, which by that rule is October 11 in 2026 and October 10 in 2027, unless a typhoon moves it. East and west haul on a 200 m straw rope of 40 tons, made new every year, on Route 58 in the middle of Naha.
  • Saijo Sake Festival, Higashihiroshima: October 10 and 11 in 2026. At the Sake Hiroba venue a ¥5,000 ticket on the day buys tastings from 801 sake brands sent from all over Japan, one cup of each.
  • Niihama Taiko Festival, Ehime: October 15 to 18 in 2026 (October 16 to 18 in most districts). 54 taiko floats are shouldered through the city, and on October 17 twenty of them meet at Yamane Ground from 12:30 for the lifting contest.
  • Autumn Fujiwara Festival, Hiraizumi: November 1 to 3, at Chuson-ji and Motsu-ji. On November 1, after a 10:00 memorial for the Fujiwara lords at Chuson-ji, children in costume walk from its main hall to the Golden Hall holding maple sprays.

Building a Trip Around Them

From a Tokyo hotel, seven of the twenty need no change of base. The Ikegami Oeshiki lantern procession (October 12), Meiji Jingu's festival (November 1 to 3) and Tori-no-Ichi (November 7 and 19) are inside the city. Kawagoe is about 26 minutes from Ikebukuro, Kamakura about 56 minutes from Tokyo Station, and Hakone-Yumoto about 85 minutes from Shinjuku by Romancecar. Nikko is the long one, about 1 hour 50 minutes from Asakusa, and its festival days fall in its leaf season: our foliage tracker shows where the color stands.

October 22 in Kyoto is two festivals in one day, and it can be done. The Jidai Matsuri procession leaves the Imperial Palace at 12:00 and its head reaches Heian Jingu at about 14:30; Kurama's watch fires are lit at 18:00. The catch is Kurama's one small railway: Eizan runs a special timetable, may limit boarding, and stops carrying visitors up if the police say the village is full. Go up straight after the procession and be back at Kurama Station before the last train at 23:24. Book the room first: when we checked in late September, five of seven chain hotels had nothing left for October 21 (our October guide has the details).

The Culture Day holiday in Saga stacks two more. The Saga International Balloon Fiesta flies from October 30 to November 3 and Karatsu Kunchi runs November 2 to 4, both in Saga Prefecture, about 70 minutes apart on the JR Karatsu Line. Give them two days: a 7:00 launch from the Kase River bank one morning, and the floats hauled into the sand at Nishinohama at noon on November 3.

November belongs to the leaves more than the festivals. After the Culture Day holiday come the boats at Arashiyama on November 7 and 8, before the hills there turn, and Tori-no-Ichi's two fairs in Tokyo on November 7 and 19. The handover to winter is the Chichibu Night Festival on December 2 and 3, which is on our winter festivals page. For everything else in each month, see the September, October and November guides.

🏮 Turn These Dates Into a Trip

Our 10-Day Autumn Foliage route runs Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka, which puts Kawagoe, Nikko, Hakone's procession and Kyoto's October 22 within reach if you pick the start date to match. Choose a date and every day is planned in seconds. Free, no account needed.

Build my autumn tripSee the 10-day autumn route

Autumn Festival FAQ

What festivals are on in Japan in October 2026?

Ten of the twenty on this page: Nagasaki Kunchi (October 7 to 9), the Takayama Autumn Festival (October 9 and 10), the Ikegami Oeshiki in Tokyo (October 11 to 13), Himeji's Nada no Kenka Matsuri (October 14 and 15), Nikko Toshogu's autumn festival (October 16 and 17), the Kawagoe Festival and the Nagoya Festival (both October 17 and 18), Kyoto's Jidai Matsuri and Kurama Fire Festival (both October 22), and the Saga International Balloon Fiesta from October 30. Sapporo's Autumn Fest, which opened on September 11, ran to October 3.

What festivals are on in Japan in November 2026?

Meiji Jingu's autumn festival in Tokyo (November 1 to 3), Karatsu Kunchi (November 2 to 4), the Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu procession (November 3), the Tori-no-Ichi rooster fairs in Asakusa (November 7 and 19) and the Arashiyama Momiji Festival in Kyoto (November 7 and 8). The Saga International Balloon Fiesta, which starts on October 30, also runs to November 3.

Are Japan's autumn festivals on the same dates every year?

Most are. Twelve of the twenty festivals here keep the same calendar dates whatever the weekday, including Nagasaki Kunchi (October 7 to 9), Jidai Matsuri and the Kurama Fire Festival (October 22) and Karatsu Kunchi (November 2 to 4). Three follow a rule: Kishiwada's danjiri on the weekend before Respect for the Aged Day, Kawagoe on the third Sunday of October and the Saturday before it, and Tori-no-Ichi on the days of the rooster in November. The rest are announced by their organizers each year.

Do you need tickets for Japan's autumn festivals?

Almost never. Nearly all of them are free and watched standing along the route. Seats are sold at Nagasaki Kunchi, at Jidai Matsuri (¥5,000 to ¥15,500 in 2026, through Ticket Pia) and for the indoor stage shows at Owara Kaze no Bon (¥4,000). The Takayama Autumn Festival and Karatsu Kunchi have no paid stands.

Which autumn festivals can you see on a day trip from Tokyo?

Four work as a day trip: the Kawagoe Festival on October 17 and 18 (about 26 minutes from Ikebukuro), Kamakura's Tsurugaoka Hachimangu festival with its horseback archery on September 16 (about 56 minutes from Tokyo Station), the Hakone Daimyo Gyoretsu on November 3 (about 85 minutes from Shinjuku) and Nikko Toshogu's autumn festival on October 16 and 17 (about 1 hour 50 minutes from Asakusa). Three more are inside the city: the Ikegami Oeshiki lantern procession on October 12, Meiji Jingu's festival on November 1 to 3 and Tori-no-Ichi on November 7 and 19.

Can you see Jidai Matsuri and the Kurama Fire Festival on the same day?

Yes: both are on October 22 and the times allow it. The Jidai Matsuri procession leaves the Imperial Palace at 12:00 and its head reaches Heian Jingu at about 14:30, and Kurama's fires are lit at 18:00. The risk is the Eizan Railway, the only train to Kurama, which may limit boarding and can stop carrying festival visitors if the village is full. Go up straight after the procession, and be back at Kurama Station before the last train at 23:24.